Conveyors are used to convey objects from one position to another and may include subsystems, such as conveyor belts, chutes, and rollers. There may be gaps between conveying surfaces of a conveyor such as at hitch in a conveyor belt where the conveyor belt changes direction. Another example of a gap between conveying surfaces of a conveyor is between a first conveyor belt of the conveyor and a second conveyor belt or a chute of the conveyor. Different transfer guard systems may be installed to transfer objects across the gap and resist objects from falling through the gap. Transfer guard systems are known to reduce product jams which may result in belt or other system damage.
One known transfer guard system includes a single sheet of ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene material that is rigidly attached to a bar support. The sheet of UHMW polyethylene material transfers objects across a gap and the bar support is welded or fastened to conveyor structure near the gap.
Some conveyors include a pair of conveying surfaces, such as a pair of conveyor belts, separated by a gap and side panels or skirts extending along opposite sides of the conveyor belts and the gap. Because the skirts extend along the gap, an installer may mount a transfer guard system to the skirts. The skirts thereby provide a readily accessible location to secure the transfer guard system.
Other conveyors include modular conveyor components such as a series of conveyor belt systems that are positioned one after another to transfer objects along a predetermined path. Transfer guard systems are used to transfer objects across gaps between the modular conveyor components and limit loss of product or jams at these gaps. One advantage of modular conveyor components is that they may be readily repositioned to reconfigure the path of the conveyor. Although the modular conveyor components may be readily repositioned, a transfer guard system for transferring objects across the gap between the components will have to be removed and re-installed between the components in their new positions. The ability of these modular conveyor components to be readily rearranged may render unsuitable some transfer guard systems that are welded to conveyor structure near the gap.
Modular conveyor components also present the difficulty of reduced conveyor structure near the gap between the components for an installer to use for mounting a transfer guard system. For example, the conveyor may not have skirts extending along opposite sides of the gap between the modular conveyor components. There may be little, if any, suitable structure extending between the modular conveyor components to which a transfer guard system can be mounted.
Another difficulty is that each gap between the modular conveyor components may have a different geometry so that the mounting of a transfer guard system to transfer objects across each gap may involve a custom, one-off installation. One prior approach to mounting a transfer guard system to a pair of modular conveyor components involves securing channel members to extend along opposite sides of the gap. An installer positions opposite ends of a mounting bar in the channels so that the mounting bar extends laterally across the gap, and the installer then connects transfer guard members to the mounting bar. One issue with this approach is the position, orientation, and length of the channels may need to be customized for each gap of the conveyor.